To Hope or Not to Hope
by kalster09
Summary: That is the question. A story I made up in my free time, nothing glamorous. It's Valduggery, but rated M because of some language and a suggestive scene in a later chapter (not Val x Skul). This is not my first fanfiction for Skulduggery Pleasant, but I've deleted my past stories because they were pretty poor. Enjoy!


**A/N: Hello! c: This was a story I just randomly came up with because I felt like it. I typed it first on my iPod, so I'm sorry for any mistakes I didn't catch. I'm usually pretty good at grammar and spelling the first time around, but it's an iPod, you know? xD** **Because this was just some random story I brewed up, it's probably not going to be anything fancy. I have more typed up however, in a day I typed up six thousand three hundred words just because I wanted to. Though if my plot falls flat don't expect me to write like that. x) I'll probably update this in a week or so, depending on the reviews.**

**P.S. I made this story M because later in the chapters there's some suggestive parts (not Val x Skul though).**

**P.P.S. There are minor spoilers for Kingdom of the Wicked (and books before that) but nothing too major I think...You've been warned though. ^^**

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Valkyrie Cain settled into her seat in the Bentley. She felt like the princess with the pea under the mattress. Her seat just wasn't right after Skulduggery had let some other girl sit in it. She scowled inwardly at this, but instead turned her mind to other matters. The very thin and tall figure drove his elegant car, to wherever their next destination was.

"Where are we heading?" The seventeen year old asked her partner. She watched as buildings and other cars whipped past the windows. They were on a new case, a more minor one. It was as if Ravel felt bad about all the work they had to do, so gave them an easy one to accomplish. In truth, it _was_ nice to relax a little. Except, with their luck it would probably turn into something a lot worse than they were expecting.

"The crime scene of course." Valkyrie scowled. I never would have guessed. Before she could voice her thoughts, Skulduggery added more. "Don't worry, it's not a murder this time. It's a robbery, but of a magical artifact." Skulduggery vaguely debriefed Valkyrie. She inwardly sighed of relief. Even though her Darquesse half was a mass murderer, Valkyrie Cain still didn't like the sight of a murder scene. The last one, with the boy pretty much exploded over the room caused her to throw up.

"How dangerous is this artifact?" Valkyrie wanted to know. If it was something powerful no doubt people like Sanguine would be plotting to get their hands on it. Magical artifacts didn't stay a secret for long once exposed to the public.

"Potentially. It would take a lot of power to work it and even then nobody is quite sure what it does and if it will even work." Skulduggery concluded, gloved hands turning the wheel to the left sharply. Valkyrie bounced in her seat slightly, but she paid no mind to it.

"Oh." Valkyrie replied cleverly, resting heavily against the back of the seat. She felt tired, her eye lids felt heavy. Nothing sounded better than her own bed at home right now. Not even some time off with Skulduggery...She found herself slightly embarrassed of this thought. It was hard for her to admit it to herself, but she found that she had taken a strong liking to her partner. Even if his ego was bigger than the sun, even if he was like four hundred years old and sort of like a father to her...Oh god it was so wrong.

"Penny for your thoughts?" Skulduggery asked curiously, noticing the young detective deep in thought. Valkyrie blinked in slight surprise, having forgotten that she was with Skulduggery, or anybody for that matter. In fact, she seemed a bit caught off guard or flustered by the question.

"My thoughts are worth more than a penny." Valkyrie responded indignantly. She frowned in a joking manner, crossing her arms almost subconsciously.

"Great, now that that is established, what's on your mind?" Skulduggery seemed to eyeball her out of the corner of his eye sockets, if that was even possible. She wondered briefly if he could look around like she could.

"Nothing of interest." Valkyrie stared out the window and Skulduggery didn't press the issue. It was like a silent agreement of the two. After large cases they wouldn't tease each other as much as they usually did. It was like taking a breathe and reentering the world.

Shortly after the two arrived at a normal looking modern house, sitting in a small field a little away from a small town. The artifact, or the Sohur Project as Skulduggery later informed her, was hidden in this little unassuming house. It was protected by an older looking woman and her husband, who were really a pair of rather strong sorcerers.

Valkyrie unbuckled her seat belt and it whizzed back into place. She lightly shut the door of the car upon exiting. The gravel crunched lightly beneath the feet of the two detectives who headed up the path to the house.

The clue combing didn't take long. They chatted with the couple for a while. They had seemed very distressed over the whole thing. After getting the exact details they searched the scene of the crime. There wasn't many clues, as far as Valkyrie could tell, but Skulduggery seemed satisfied when they left the house. Valkyrie stifled a yawn, as they reentered the car for the drive back home. She debated on whether she should just crash at Skulduggery's or have him drive her home. Valkyrie eventually decided on the skeleton's place, because tomorrow they had to continue on the case anyway. It was surprisingly late by now.

"Is it okay if I crash at your place?" Valkyrie asked, even though she already knew the answer. She blinked, the rumble of the car seeming to sooth her nerves and cautiously sink her into sleep.

"Hmm? Of course." Skulduggery replied, though it seemed his own mind was somewhere else. _Interesting. A penny for your thoughts, Skulduggery? Though I might pay a little more to know what you are thinking...Sometimes I have no idea._

The trip back seemed to take no time at all, the Bentley drove up the road to Skulduggery's, past the two funeral homes. Valkyrie stumbled into the house after the skeleton, immediately the couch calling for her.

"Are you hungry? I could make something or check the fridge for anything." Skulduggery offered his partner against crime. Valkyrie simply shook her head, flopped and stretched out on the couch.

"No, I'm fine." Valkyrie murmured, shrugging out of her black jacket. Her boots joined the pile, and she looked longingly up the stairs where her actual bedroom was, with a wardrobe of some clothes. She was about to get up, when she saw Skulduggery coming downstairs, his arms full of blankets and clothes for her. Valkyrie smiled, she hasn't even noticed him going up stairs.

She nodded her thanks, picking up a large black t-shirt that she used as a night gown. Underneath she had her tank top, but she still felt a bit self-conscious. She knew it was a bit silly to think so around Skulduggery, but she found out with a frown that she had no clean shorts. A quick answer from Skulduggery confirmed that.

_Oh well, it doesn't matter. He's seen me like this plenty when he wakes me up in the morning._ Valkyrie thought to herself, as she plopped herself back into a comfortable position on the couch. The couch just seemed more inviting than her bedroom upstairs.

Skulduggery sat in his meditating chair diagonal from the couch. "I know you said you were fine, but you can talk to me. Something is on your mind. I worry about you, Valkyrie." Skulduggery finished, crossing his arms but sitting casually. _Dammit, why does he have to be such a good detective sometimes._ Valkyrie thought with a mental sigh.

"It's nothing, really. It's the first time I can really relax and think about stuff, you know?" Valkyrie came up with a believable lie. It was partially true. It wasn't really just nothing, but she couldn't tell Skulduggery about her like Skulduggery after all. If only..._No. Tanith is being controlled by a Remnant and there is probably no hope for her_. Valkyrie reminded herself sadly.

Skulduggery grunted, but he didn't say anything else. He loosened his tie some, before sitting in a comfortable yet uncomfortable looking position. The lights flickered off as Skulduggery shut them off with the small remote control he had. Valkyrie pulled a soft blanket up to her chin, closing her eyes to fall into an easy slumber.

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**So yes. How was it? Wonderful hopefully? I'd really appreciate your reviews. :3 I'm okay with constructive criticism, but I'm not really looking for much since I was trying very hard on this story haha.** **Enjoy and thank you if you read this. It means a lot to me when people read my stories :)**

**Kalster09 **


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